Donny Lia looked good at Martinsville Speedway. His Huntington Honda #18 machine was one of the fastest machines at the historic half-mile all weekend long at the Whelen Made in America 300. Fast laps in practice and a third-quick qualifying effort made Lia one of the favorites for victory in the 250-lap feature at Martinsville on Saturday night.
In the race, Lia reinforced his title as a formidable threat to bring home the coveted grandfather clock that Martinsville winners received. Racing inside the top-five for much of the race, Lia was well on his way to a strong finish.
That is, had his motor lasted through the whole night. The motor in his #18 machine went sour with just a few laps remaining in the rain-shortened event. His 17th-place finish was not nearly indicative of the solid performance Lia was putting on at Martinsville.
“We had a good car all race long," said a dejected Lia. "After we pitted, we were back up to fifth and we had more bad luck. That's it. It's frustrating to have the luck that we've been having and hopefully we can turn it around at Thompson."
